Flirting with success

Chapter 9

I was in the middle of getting ready when the girls arrived home. I had music blaring through the flat so loud I'm certain my neighbours must hate me. For the same reason I did not hear Lauren enter my room.

"Going anywhere nice" she said as she appeared directly behind me

I fell to the ground in shock "fucking hell lauren"

"So is this why you didn't want to come shopping, go on who's the lucky guy" she said with an exited smile on her face

"No one, I'm just meeting some mates in town" I lied too scared to tell the truth. I've known Lauren for a while now and I know her feelings would be hurt if she found out I was keeping something from her.

"Sophie, you've only just moved here you don't have any mates in Manchester" she called me out.

I was caught off guard. Instead of telling the truth I decided to make it worse for myself and continue lying. "I'm sorry Lauren I didn't want to tell you in case your feelings got hurt but I'm going out with some of the city girls" This was another stupid lie that she saw right through. However, presumably as it was her last day she chose not to make an argument.

Walking off in disappointment she said "I see how it is, I'm going away tomorrow anyway I wouldn't have wanted a hangover"

As Lauren left my room, I sat down a texted Jill and told her not to come to my flat as planned and instead I would meet her at the bar in town. Luckily for me Jill didn't question this which enabled me to continue getting ready.

The time I was supposed to be meeting Jill quickly crept up on me. I was really nervous because I'd never been on a date before. The fact that Jackie and her boyfriend will also be there made me feel better about the situation.

When I arrived I could see Jill sat in the corner of the bar. I'd never met Jackie before because she wasn't in the WSL when I was playing for Bristol. I had a sense of pride in myself as I approached the table they were sat at. I was pushing myself out of my comfort zone effectively hanging out with three strangers.

As I got closer I could feel the energy coming from Jill. She gave off a vibe that just made her so fun to be around. Clearly having arrived earlier than me she seemed to be a few drinks down already. I greeted her with a hug and sat down beside her in the booth.

"What do you want to drink?" She asked "it's on me"

Unlike most British 19 year olds I was not accustomed to the drinking culture in the UK. "Whatever you are having is fine by me"

Jackie smiled "adventurous I like it" This wasn't true but I wasn't going to correct her. Whilst Jill was gone Jackie played the protective best friend. Despite the endless questions I could tell she had good intentions. It was nice for Jill to have a friend that cared about her so much. This made me sad for a moment as I thought I'm denying Lauren the opportunity to protect me. Before I could dwell on my feelings Jill returned.

"Now get this down you and then we can get to the dance floor" Jill said handing me some sort of alcoholic concoction.

"Jill fancies herself as some sort of dancer" added Jackie's boyfriend before Jackie chipped in with "she fancies herself in general" this made me blush. I couldn't help but think why shouldn't she I certainly do.

Eventually, I alongside everyone in the bar were drunk enough to forget their inhibitions. Soon enough Jill got her wish and we ended up on the dance floor. He was right Jill isn't a bad dancer. The way she was boogying to the beat of the music made her so attractive. The song we were dancing to came to an end and I went to sit down. Jill pulled me back and kissed me. This was the best feeling in the world. I'd kissed boys before but never a girl. It felt amazing.

The night went on and before we knew it the barman announced last orders. "So where are we going to go now?" asked Jill